My Department has been considering with BNFL the terms of the centrifuge agreement reached between the Department of Trade and Industry and BNFL which was announced to the House on 24 July 1973 at columns 385–6. Under the terms of the agreement, the Government provided £47.8 million in financial support to BNFL for the collaboration with the Netherlands and West Germany on exploitation of the gas centrifuge process for enriching uranium. The agreement provided for the grant to be repaid out of profits earned from subsequent commercial exploitation of the centrifuge process and for the Department to take a continuing share of the profits for a further period. Such payments would be made annually, once profits materialised, until 2002–03.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what analyses are available to his Department of expenditure on (a) education support grants, (b) technical and vocational education initiative, (c) in-service training (INSET); if he will publish an analysis of expenditure on each such programme in each of the last three years showing (i) the amount of grant given for new projects; (ii) the proportion of total expenditure on such projects calculated to be provided by the grant; (iii) the amount of grant given for continuation of existing projects; (iv) the proportion of total expenditure on existing projects in that year calculated to be provided by the grant; (v) the total outturn expenditure on all grant-related projects, including expenditure from other sources; (vi) the overall proportion of such outturn expenditure provided by the grant; and if he will make a statement.

[pursuant to her reply, 18 February 1987]: The available information is given in the table. All the figures are based on the amount of grant paid out in each financial year.

It has now been agreed that these payments should be commuted into a single lump sum. The amount agreed is £47.5 million; it will be paid shortly and brought to account as a Consolidated Fund extra receipt on class VI, vote 2.